Legalize marijuana in New York may in 2020

State Governor Andrew Cuomo promised that marijuana will be legalized in New York this year. According to him, this will allow pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the treasury. The publication writes about this and other government initiatives for 2020. New York Times.

On Wednesday, January 8, the governor promised to legalize marijuana in New York, giving priority to a step that could not be taken last year amid tensions over who should be allowed to sell the drug and where the income should go.

The governor described these efforts as a long overdue reform of the criminal justice system.

Cuomo also believes it will help "heal the wounds" in communities affected by the decade-long war on drugs. “For decades, communities of color have been disproportionately affected by unequal enforcement of marijuana laws,” he said. "Let's legalize marijuana use for adults."

What will the legalization of marijuana give New York

It is noted that the government intends to legalize marijuana amid a budget deficit of $ 6 billion. Cuomo said a legalized marijuana cultivation program could generate $ 300 million in tax revenues per year; billions of dollars will also come from economic activity when it is fully realized, although this can happen in a few years.

Other Cuomo initiatives

The Governor's proposal was part of a long agenda that included tenders to increase spending on environmental protection, support small businesses, and address a range of social issues, from overpriced women's goods to lack of diversity on state farms.

Cuomo did not say whether he supports tax increases for the rich. Instead, the governor emphasized that he wanted to cut tax rates for small businesses by a third, which, he said, would help about 36 taxpayers.

At the same time, Cuomo retained his penchant for more expensive infrastructure projects, offering to invest $ 300 million to repurpose the Erie Canal to attract tourists, $ 9 million to build an unmanned aerial vehicle in the north of the state and an unspecified amount in an ambitious plan for the station renovation. Penn, which will accommodate an additional 175 passengers through the construction of eight new tracks. "A progressive government, by definition, must be functional," said the governor, returning to the broader theme and referring to his father, former governor, Mario M. Cuomo.

The governor’s appeal marked the beginning of this year’s legislative session and followed the historic year in Albany, where legislators passed, among other things, important new laws on rents, climate change and traffic.

Last year was also a transitional one for Cuomo: during the first eight years of his tenure, the governor worked in the state Senate, which often supported his calls for austerity. The situation changed during the mid-term elections of 2018. Then the Democrats took control of the Senate with the help of a number of young liberal candidates who repeatedly challenged Cuomo, sometimes leading to acute conflicts.

This split has already surfaced this year when the governor and other Democrats struggled with the political consequences of the new law, which drastically reduced the use of cash collateral. The law entered into force on January 1, 2020, and since then, concerns about a surge in anti-Semitic incidents and other crimes committed from custody have given rise to calls for amendments to the law, including by Cuomo.

On the subject: The number of anti-Semitic crimes in New York grew by 25% in 2019

The governor did not mention the collateral reform on Wednesday during his speech, which included quotes from speeches by George Washington, Henry David Thoreau, and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.

Given the financial situation of the state, Cuomo relied heavily on proposals that would need little or no government funding. For example, a ban on gun ownership for people who have committed certain offenses in other states; the ban on foam containers with food; outlawing synthetic opioids similar to fentanyl.

The governor's proposal for marijuana was accompanied by numerous warnings. However, he said he intended to coordinate New York’s plan with similar efforts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. At the same time, later in his office it was clarified that the state would not wait for other states to implement their own plan.

He also suggested involving the University of New York State in the study of marijuana and its effects, equating the potential danger of the drug with the danger of opioids. “The federal government has let Americans down with opioids,” Cuomo said. "And we can't let this happen to cannabinoids."

Social Initiatives: Women, the LGBT Community and Enterprise Workers

The Governor’s Agenda, entitled “Making Progress,” also contains an extensive list of social offers, many of which are aimed at improving the status of women in the state, including research to increase the representation of women on corporate boards and $ 20 million in grants for women entrepreneurs. . Cuomo also promised to accept the so-called “pink” tax, with which enterprises charge women additional fees for personal hygiene services and items.

On the subject: In New York, they want to abolish the tax, which is taxed only half the population

The governor also took a number of actions to protect the rights of homosexuals, including legalizing same-sex marriage in 2011. Its top offering for the LGBTQ community - to allow paid surrogacy - did not receive enough support in 2019 after some women's rights advocates and religious groups argued that surrogacy makes the body a commodity.

On Wednesday, even before Cuomo’s speech ended, the Catholic State Conference said that “surrogacy is a dangerous policy that will exploit poor, vulnerable women and does not have sufficient guarantees for children.”

Cuomo also said that he supported paid sick leave for employees of enterprises with five or more employees and would like to codify benefits and protection measures for workers in growing sectors of the economy, although he did not offer specifics.

Cuomo's other ideas are under discussion. For example, an equal rights amendment to establish factors such as gender and sexual orientation as protected classes; a change in law allowing movie theaters to sell alcohol; law allowing automatic voter registration.

The governor also put forward a revised version of the idea, which he recently vetoed: legalize electronic bikes and scooters.

Environment protection

Like last year, Cuomo has made the environment a cornerstone of his agenda, proposing to raise $ 3 billion in bonds to restore wildlife habitats and reduce flood risk. In addition, he proposed plans to conserve 1618 hectares of land in the Mid Hudson Valley and to upgrade the Lake George wastewater treatment plant, a popular recreational location. “No economic strategy, no social justice reform, no education policy is going to be worth a dime if we don't have a planet to live on," Cuomo said.

Fighting Sexual Offenders

The governor also set himself the goal of combating sexual rapists. To do this, he proposed the adoption of a law that would restrict high-risk sex criminals access to the subway and the use of social networks, dating applications and video game chats.

It is worth noting that in 2019 most of the proposals of Governor Cuomo were approved, with the exception of the legalization of marijuana.

Medicaid

The governor noted that he will insist on greater accountability from local governments in how they manage the Medicaid program. Cuomo administration officials later said they intend to eradicate “squandering, fraud and abuse within the system.”

The budget deficit

Cuomo previously decided to unveil his budget during a state speech. But faced with budget disagreements this year, the governor decided to submit his budget separately later this month.

“This is the $ 29 billion elephant, and he knows it,” said Andrew Rein, chairman of the Citizens Budget Commission, referring to the projected aggregate state budget deficit of $ 28,8 billion through 2023. “When you have a structural problem, the longer you put off solving it, the bigger it gets,” he added.